


Trouble on the Horizon

by Manu_K



Category: Captain Marvel (2019), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Captain Marvel (2019) Spoilers, Carol Needs a Hug, Carol crosses the universe to get to Earth, Carol gets a hug, Carol looks for her daughter, Carol looks for her love, Gen, Monica Needs a Hug, Monica gets a hug, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Captain Marvel (2019), Searching for your family, The Compound, family comes first, the pager
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:26:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28130115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Manu_K/pseuds/Manu_K
Summary: After Thanos's snap, Carol returns to Earth and searches for the two most important people in her life.
Relationships: Carol Danvers & Maria Rambeau & Monica Rambeau, Carol Danvers & Monica Rambeau, Carol Danvers/Maria Rambeau
Comments: 4
Kudos: 85





	Trouble on the Horizon

**Author's Note:**

> All the characters belong to Marvel. I only own the plot.
> 
> Constructive criticism is always welcome.
> 
> Thank you for giving a chance to this work.
> 
> Inspired by @ Hinn-Raven's story 'by any other name' on Fanfiction.
> 
> Note: This is a one-shot. It is not related to any works I have or may publish at a later date. Major spoiler alert.
> 
> Manu.K.

She is on her way to a refugee camp, when her ship’s communicators start relaying distress messages. One after another, from various different planets that she has helped over the years, the messages come, but they are all the same. People are turning into dust.

She is torn on which signal to respond to first when her pager, _the_ pager, starts beeping incessantly. 

When she had told Fury to contact her for emergencies only, she had meant it and he had not contacted her since. He had kept it safe and within reach at all times, she knew that. He had told her that. It was the first time since she had given him that pager, that he had contacted her. 

The pager became her sole focus. Fury wouldn’t contact her unless the situation was really _really_ dire. The attack on Manhattan by Loki had proved that. 

So she mutes her ship’s communicators and lands it on the nearest abandoned planet she can find. She is faster without it.

She pockets the pager, letting the beeps spurn her into flying as fast as she can towards Earth.

***

She enters Earth’s atmosphere at full speed and lands somewhere in Mexico. It has taken her eight days, eight long days, to reach Earth. She turns off the pager, knowing that wherever the other one was, wherever Fury was, she could track it in the next five minutes.

In the next eight minutes, she is standing behind four people (the only ones in the whole building, she had checked) who are looking at Fury’s pager. None of them is Fury himself.

They turn around. Her mind whirls. Fury would never _ever_ let the pager fall in someone else’s hands. He knew the monumental risk of even _telling_ someone about it. She doubted that he had told anyone about it.

“Where’s Fury?” The words tumble out of her mouth of their own volition. It’s the only question that matters right now. These people were either Fury’s friends or his enemies. She just had to find out which.

“Who are you?” The blonde woman is the first one to gather her wits about her. She is looking at her with suspicion, a hand on the gun at her waist. An appropriate response, Carol thinks, to an intruder in your building. 

“My name is Carol. I’m here to help. Now, where’s Fury and what’s going on?” Carol thought it best to keep things simple. While she usually didn’t mind annoying people and stepping on their toes, this was not the right time. She had seen the state of various other planets on her way here, and it was bad. Whatever had happened, they needed to figure out a way to undo it or find a viable solution to it.

“How do you know Fury?” The blond man beside Natasha asked, an edge to his voice as though expecting a fight to break out.

Carol didn’t want a fight, especially now when she remembered Fury telling her about his ‘Avengers Initiative’, the last time she had come to visit Earth.

“Look, I get it. We’re all on edge. We’ve all lost people. But right now isn’t the best time to hear each other’s life stories, is it? Let’s just sit down and figure out how to get out of this mess.”

“She’s right. Let’s sit and discuss this over. No one wants a fight.” Colonel Rhodes pipes up from the side and starts herding them to a sitting room. 

***

She sits and she stares. Her body is still, her poker face holding but her mind is going at light speed. _Half of the universe turned to dust? How do we undo this? Can we undo this?_

As she rises from the sea of her thoughts to the real world, she notices that all four of them are staring at her with a mix of emotions ranging from anticipation to curiosity. She does not want to be pulled into what is sure to be an interrogation so she makes the first move.

“So what’s your plan of action? Do you even have one?”

“We need to regroup. Several of our team members were last seen going into space. We’re trying to track them down, but we’re not having any luck.” Bruce Banner speaks up, the first time he has done so since she arrived. He’s fiddling with his fingers, occasionally running them through his hair. Nervous. Yet his eyes seem to glow with determination.

She can help them track down their friends and she will. But there is another pressing question she should ask. _Has to_ ask. So she does.

“Do you have a list of the people who got turned into dust?”

She hopes she doesn’t sound as desperate as she feels. There is a pit in her stomach as she holds her breath for the answer, the answer that will either make the pit vanish or widen it into an unbridgeable chasm.

“We’re getting a list from countries all over the globe. They’re constantly updating though, what with all the pandemonium going around.”

She isn’t sure who answers her, but a wave of relief crashes over her. The pit remains but recedes.

“I need to see the list for America. Now.”

The authority in her voice is unquestionable but it is layered with something else. With a jolt, she realizes that it is hope. 

She is led to a room full of holographic screens. No one has questioned her yet, though she recognizes the inquisitiveness of their gazes on her.

A couple of clicks later she is staring at an alphabetical list of names. There is a keyboard in front of her. It’s transparent. As her hands hover over the keys, she wonders idly whether the keyboard is also a hologram or it has been just designed this way.

Her fingers tremble as she types a name into the search bar and hits enter. 

_Maria Rambeau_

There is only one result that stares back at her from the screen. She clicks on it and looks for the address, ignoring all other information displayed on the screen.

_New Orleans, Louisiana_

The breath leaves her lungs in an unbidden, silent gasp. Her fists clench at her sides. The pit in her stomach transforms itself into a boundless void. _No._

It is after a full minute of silence that she jolts back and remembers that she has one more name to search for.

_Monica Rambeau_

No Results.

Her heart swells with relief. Her stomach returns to normal. There are tears gathering at the corner of her eyes, but she pushes them back. Not now.

She turns around to address the four people still watching her.

“I have some business to take care of. I’ll be back by tomorrow morning and then we can continue the search for your friends in space.”

“Do you want a ride? You look drained.” Colonel Rhodes (call me Rhodey) asks her cautiously, as though aware of her turbulent emotions.

They are looking at her expectantly, waiting for her answer. They want to keep an eye on her and make sure she doesn’t run away. They don’t want to lose an ally, she realizes.

“I would love one actually.”

***

Two hours later, she is landing the Quinjet in a park in Georgia. She had insisted on piloting the jet. It gave her a sense of control. 

A (not so) short walk later, she is standing in front of a familiar house. The front lawn, which was usually kept neat and prim, is in a state of disarray. The garage door is closed.

She reaches the front door, stopping on her way to dig the key from its hiding place. 

As soon as she enters, she knows that the one she is looking for is not here. A fine layer of dust covers the shelves and the picture frames in the sitting room.

She searches the whole house and in the end comes to the garage. It’s empty. She wants to slap herself for missing this crucial, but obvious, point. _Of course._

She comes back to the sitting room, where Rhodey is looking at the pictures on the mantle. She spots one of herself, wearing a dress and standing with the bride and groom, smiling at the camera.

“She’s not here. But I know where she might be. Let’s go.”

Her voice seemed to have broken whatever train of thoughts that Rhodey had been in. He nods and follows her outside.

***

Another two hours later, she lands the Quinjet at the back of the house she intends to search. As she gets off and moves towards the front, she sees the car she had been searching for.

The sight of the car invigorates her and she sprints up the path, not even bothering with the lock on the front door. She bursts into the house, breathless.

“Lieutenant Trouble?”

There is a thump above her, followed by the pattering of feet on the stairs. The woman comes into view. Curly hair, brown eyes.

“Auntie Carol?”

Carol has never been more relieved to hear that voice in all her life. She opens her arms and Monica leaps into them.

***

Word Count: 1,532 words

Written On: 7th June 2020

Manu.K.


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